Admiral Vernon Gerard has many pressures in his life.
As head of the Intelligence Branch of the Royal Navy, he is concerned at the rise in targeted
ship disappearances. As a husband, he is worried by his wife's deteriorating health and
reporting to both the Prime Minister and his cabinet and the Admiral of the Fleet,
pulls his loyalties in many directions.

An unlikely ally appears in the form of Captain Norris, the Master of a hijacked
merchant vessel. The ship's Owner Sir Francis Kinloch, volunteers the services of a second
ship and those of Captain Norris to solve this shipping problem. But when Kinloch travels to
visit the ship with his secretary, Captain Norris finds that his loyalties are also pulled
in more than one direction.

When the ship sails into danger a huge international conspiracy is gradually uncovered and
Norris and his lover find that their lives depend not only on their alliance with Admiral Vernon,
but on the goodwill of Sir Francis Kinloch, the shipowner.